Spike.



S. O. WOOD.

SPIKE.

APPLICATION FILED 1130.27, 1913.

Patented May 19, 1914.

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COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH c0,,\vAsmNGTor- D c SAMUEL C. WOOD, 0F CANTON, NORTHCAROLINA.

SPIKE;

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 19, 1914.

Application filed December 27, 1913. Serial No. 809,072.

TO aZZ whom, it may concern Be it known that I, SAMUEL C. 7001), acitizen of the United States, residing at Canton, in the county ofHaywood and State of North Carolina, have invented new and use fulImprovements in Spikes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to railroad spikes and has for its primary objectto provide a spike of this character which is constructed so that itshead will be braced by the cross tie in which it is engaged in such amanner that it is not apt to be broken or bent by the lateral strainupon the track rail with which it is engaged, as is often the case inthe use of spikes of ordinary construction.

A further object is to provide a spike having a reinforcing memberformed upon its head and connected with the body of the spike forengagement with the tie, the said reinforcing member being disposedoppositely with respect to the rail-engaging portion of the spike head.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a spike ofthis nature, wherein the reinforcing member extends longit'udinally withrespect to the spike body and is connected therewith by means of atapered web, which serves to prevent the spike from extracting pieces ofwood from the tie when the spike is withdrawn therefrom.

The invention consists in the features of construction, combination, andarrangement of parts, hereinafter fully described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the spike in use; Fig. 2 is a top planview; Fig. 3 is a rear elevation; Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional viewon line 4- l of Fig. 1; and, Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view online 5-5 of the same figure.

In the drawings, the numeral 1 designates the elongated body of thespike which is preferably rectangular in cross section and has its lowerend pointed. A comparatively massive head 2 is formed upon the upper endof the body 1 and projects forwardly from the body to provide anengaging portion 3, and it also projects rearwardly from the body andhas a longitudinally extending reinforcing member a formed integral withthis portion so as to depend therefrom. This reinforcing member orscotch has its inner face 5 tapered upwardly and inwardly toward thebody, with which it is connected by means of a web (3. This webterminates above the lower, tie-engaging end 7 of the member f and istapered downwardly.

The spike is adapted especially for railroad use and is intended toserve as efficientmeans for securing a track rail to one of thesupporting cross ties. In this use, the body is driven vertically intothe tie in engage ment with the adjacent base flange of the rail to suchan extent that the engaging por tion 3 of the spike head is brought intoengagement with the upper face of the said flange. The reinforcingmember will thus become engaged within the tie to a considerable depthand the connecting web 6 will also sink into the tie. The head of thespike will be reinforced efi ectively by the member 4: so as toeliminate the danger of the head being broken off by the lateral strainupon the track rail. hen the spike is withdrawn from the tie for anypurpose, the reinforcing member at and the web 6 will become disengagedfrom the wood of the tie Without extracting a chunk of the same, whichwould occur if it were not for the inclination of the inner face of thereinforcing member and the specific shape and disposition of the saidweb.

What is claimed is:

A spike comprising an elongated body, a head formed upon one end of thebody and being extended forwardly and rearwardly from the body, alongitudinally extending reinforcing member projecting inwardly from therearwardly extending portion of the head, and a medially disposed webconnecting the said reinforcing member with the body of the spike andterminating inwardly from the free end of the said memher, the said webbeing tapered toward its free edge.

In testimony whereof I affix my signa ture in presence of two witnesses.

SAMUEL C. WVOOD.

- Witnesses:

A. E. BROWN, LINDSAY NHARTON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

